Wednesday, August 27, 2014

The Electric Field

Anonymous•2 months ago The main problem is your assumption that we are dealing with large amounts of typical matter, but we are dealing with large amounts of plasma that has a unique nature and behavior. Plasma does not behave like any of the other three states of matter. It is highly energetic and dynamic, constantly changing and redistributing charge based on variations in its energy input. In more energetic states it self-organizes creating glows, toruses, filaments and complex discharge patterns with electromagnetism as the acting primal force. I know that plasma physics is a scientific discipline. I just believe that the role of plasma is not well understood and its significance highly underestimated at the least.

The electrical nature of plasma cannot be ignored. Plasma is a collection of charged particles that responds collectively to an electromagnetic force. It is conductive and if you apply a voltage, an electric current will be induced in it causing charge separation into anode and cathode field-aligned current sheaths or double layers. Given increased energy these layers can transform into spiral tubes or vortexes of conducting charged particles (Birkeland currents), creating magnetic fields around the current paths.

The electric current excites the ions and electrons in the plasma making them move rapidly toward the opposite charged sheath. The frenzied particle movement produces collisional energy photons that cause the plasma to glow in the visible range. As the input electric energy increases, the plasma goes from dark glow mode to glow mode to arc or spark discharge mode, as in the cases of the solar wind, the polar auroras and lightning, respectively. Input energy variability can effect an instability in the sheaths causing their magnetic fields to pinch down toward each other and discharge energy at the “Z-pinch”. This is what is defined as a star in the electric universe theory.

In this theory our star, the sun, is a plasma discharge phenomenon that is connected electrically to all the planets and other stars in our galaxy. Given we can now detect and observe electrical tornadoes impinging at earth’s poles originating from the sun, then electric currents and accompanying magnetic fields flow between the earth and the sun. Larger currents flow between the sun and the galaxy.

Why this matters is because this electromagnetic link between the sun and the earth is highly energetic and variable. The earth reacts to the sun’s electromagnetic variations with changes in its electromagnetic environment that influence temperature, weather, lightning and climate. Sure, certain gases like carbon dioxide and methane have heating effects on earth’s atmosphere and surface, but one significant solar event can accelerate or reverse these effects.

This is not about those that believe in anthropogenic climate change versus the deniers. This is about seeking and knowing the truth, the primary function and goal of science. Let the evidence lead you to the truth wherever it may take you, not based on consensus, but on observational facts.

And I believe I can prove that your stated position is wrong, because it is based on incorrect assumptions about the nature of the earth’s atmosphere, temperature, weather and climate, and what drives and influences them: the sun.

I will start out by confessing I lost this submission and it took me awhile to refind it. My apologies to the submitter. It was not done on purpose or with any kind of malice.

Plasma is the most common form of (normal) matter in the universe. All stars are made of plasma, as is the majority of matter between stars and galaxies. Plasma is normal matter that consists of electrically charged atoms, molecules and electrons, but the net charge is neutral, meaning there are equal parts positively and negatively charged particles. As a result, plasma reacts to electric and magnetic fields. However, plasma is very rarefied (opposite of dense). We do not find plasma in our atmosphere, except with rare and specific exceptions such as lightning and certain kinds of flames. The reason is because plasma is dependent on the charged particles not running into each other and connecting to form a neutral particle (plasma can exist in very dense stars due to the extreme temperatures that keep ripping the neutral particles apart again). For that reason, even though plasma dominates space, it is insignificant within the dense atmosphere where we live. You need to go about 100 miles up before the space between particles gets large enough for plasma to exist for any length of time. Even there, plasma is only a small percentage of the atmosphere and it is still mostly neutral.

You are correct, in a very simplified version, about how currents form in the plasma and create, among other things, the Birkeland currents. These occur very high in the atmosphere. And, yes, this is also the cause of the aurorae and other currents within the upper-atmosphere.

You are also correct when you say the Sun (and any other star) is emitting plasma. This emitted plasma is called the solar wind and consists mainly of protons (hydrogen nuclei) and electrons. Yes, we are connected to the Sun via magnetic field lines which channel plasma into our atmosphere (which is what causes the aurorae). Are the magnetic field lines coming from the Sun connected to field lines of the galaxy? We don't know, but we believe it is possible.

But, the amount of energy contained in the solar wind is very, very tiny compared to the amount of energy contained in sunlight. Solar wind can have a very dramatic effect on the power grid, satellites and electronic components by essentially slamming them with a sudden burst of electricity (moving charged particles), which can lead to damage and even power outages in the grid and catastrophic failure in the satellites. The largest known such event occurred in 1859 and is known as the Carrington Event, named for the scientist that was making observations of the Sun when the eruption on the Sun's surface responsible for the event occurred. Aurorae were observed almost all the way to the equator. Electrical sparks would fly from telegraph equipment and set buildings on fire. If such an event were to happen today it could very possibly lead to an enormous power failure among nations in the high latitudes (the southern and norther aurorae - aurora borealis and aurora australias - mirror each other).

So, you have the basic facts correct, but there are two major problems. The issue is intensity. As I said above, the amount of energy contained in the solar wind is very miniscule compared to other sources of energy reaching Earth from the Sun. Even great storms like the Carrington Event don't put as much energy into the atmosphere as sunlight does. But, this energy is still included in our calculations and incorporated into climate models. I did my graduate research in this area and have continued to do some research. It is a very important, and complicated, subject and is studied in great detail.

But, another problem is the fact the solar activity is actually decreasing slightly over recent decades (and continuing to do so). The decrease isn't anything to worry about, but it would cause a slight drop in temperature if that is all there was. So, if your hypothesis was correct, we would be experiencing global cooling, not warming. So, we can safely conclude that warming is not due to plasma reaching Earth from the Sun.